Basic Update, Sandman, On Writing

I did not get the library job for the Spokane County. But there's a library job opening for Coeurd'Alene. So I'm applying to that tomorrow. Also I'm applying for the adjunct pool for North Idaho College. Read some tarot today and basically what I got out of it was that I need to freaking write. Just write! I have so much I need to do. This past month has been busier than anything--people in and out of the house and lots of extra stuff to do--so I'm a bit behind in my packet exchanges with E. Also this month, my friend Faith (which is her writer's nomdeplume) will be visiting. In fact, she's coming tomorrow. We're going to chat and be silly and talk about writing and publishing and all that good stuff. So, I'm hoping that by the time she leaves me the next week, I will be right back on the writing horse and ready to go! 

Recently I've been reading a crap ton of Neil Gaiman's "Sandman." It is quite amazing and I can't wait to read further. Also I'm going to check out "Morning Glory" which my friend recommended to me. In additional to all of this I'm going to read some David Levithan soon. I'm priming myself for publication in Cicada Magazine. I will most likely get a big fat rejection letter from them but I can hope, yes? So I'm doing all I can to get myself in the right mood. I figure, no matter what job I have, if I can actually make money by publishing then I will be living my dream a little and also feel more like I can provide for myself via my craft. And maybe someday... it will be my only job. Not a secondary job, not a side thing, not something I squeeze in between the day-to-day shifts. I would love that. So here's hoping for getting some shit out there soon.

In other news, I threw a few fits over the change to Windows 10. Probably I'll end up liking it, but dealing with the big change from 8.1 to 10 during a damn project was not fun. I'm working on the thank you notes for those who celebrated my graduation with me, as well as sending special and personalized notes to my mentors and directors at Solstice. I also need to work on a letter of recommendation for my friend who is applying. I have so much writing I need to do! It's exciting but a tad overwhelming. While my friend is here, she is going to be attending a conference for sci-fi writers. While she's busy with that, I'm thinking Hannah and I need to spend some time together (we've sort of lost touch with each other the last few months like ships passing in the night so to speak), and also do some serious writing, Loving the Stephen King book "On Writing" right now. And he says that the only thing you can't take lightly is the actual writing, He's right. I need to sit down and take every moment of it seriously. It is a blessing and a curse. I am ready to enjoy the telepathy of writing and finally reach my audiences.

Good Feedback, Good Feelings

I'm feeling pretty good today despite the horrific dreams I was having only a few hours ago - dreams that made me cry out and whimper so much that Hannah had to shake me awake.  Well, I'm awake now and drinking coffee and I just got done checking my emails and was delighted to find a very positive and uplifting assessment from my MFA mentor.  It has kind of made my day and I am making brain stew (putting in all his suggestions and questions and letting them mix with what my friends and I have talked about concerning the story) and thinking that later today I might try my hand at peeking inside the brain of Eugene Cartwright.  He was conjured into being by the fact that I needed a 'bad guy' and as his essence formed, it became clear that he is not all that bad.  He's tragic and frustrated and, as Sterling points out, he's one of the most interesting characters in the novel synopsis.  And he very well may be the protagonist, or at least a co-protagonist.

I'm also feeling pretty good because this weekend is the family Christmas party (the big one for the entire clan) and I was able to get time off from work so that I can attend.  On a Christmas note, I do need to get on my Christmas letter and get some cards sent out.  Today will be a 'finish up the last bit of the semester day' as well as a 'get rolling on Christmas stuff' day.  Hannah and I want to have a little date, just some lunch out together, but we're both slugging through the morning with a decided lack of zeal and ambition.  That's okay, though.  We'll wake up and get to business soon enough.  Right now I'm still kind of dazed and contemplative.  My dreams were really upsetting and Sterling's email was really exciting and with both of those mixing inside I feel anxious and eager.  I'm so ready for the third residency.  I hope that it goes smoothly and that I am able to reboot all of my creative and literary efforts.

This next semester will see me working on my critical thesis.  I'm nervous about it, but not all that nervous.  I'm waiting to hear back what my mentor thought of the critical thesis ideas I sent him, but even if he decides they are all a bust (and I usually go with his suggestions/decisions because, for the most part, they are solid gold) I won't worry too much.  There will always be other options.  In other news I still need to get my little computer sent in, but I do think it's too late to be able to have Vignette at the residency, which is a shame because she made the in class writings go so much better and also allowed for me to take notes that *gasp* I was able to read later since there's no preset font on Microsoft Word called 'Amanda's excruciatingly undecipherable handwriting.'  My friend has a small computer that she says I am welcome to borrow and I might take her up on that.

Pumpkin Frustration and Irk

I tried to make a no bake pumpkin pie dessert tonight and shouldn't have since I didn't have all the ingredients to start off with.  The end result is a very thick, very rich, slop of pumpkin pie dessert that may or may not be riddled with salmonella.  I didn't have condensed milk and so I made an acceptable substitute for it, which is essentially egg and brown sugar.  Well... it's a no bake recipe so... egg is a great choice.  Really.  I cooked the condensed milk substitute mixture in the microwave for a while to hopefully make the eggs safe for consumption but who knows.  This was definitely not one of my finer moments in cooking.  Moving right along.

Something happened not too long ago that really irked me.  I like to think that I could have a good relationship with my Mesa State professors should I choose to invoke it.  When I got ready to go back to school to pursue my MFA I sent out a 'please, oh, please, love me enough to write me a letter of recommendation' to two of my previous professors: Dr. Haas (literature), and R. Cowden (theatre).  The former replied to me and had me send in some of my old papers and asked for my CV and proceeded to write me a letter that helped me get accepted into the Pine Manor Creative Writing MFA program.  The latter... never replied, not even to say, 'gee, I just don't have that much time right now.'  This is okay, really, because I know he's busy and I respect that.  It was sad but I got over it.  Anyway, the most contact (directly) that I've had with this professor since I graduated has been the acceptance of my request for FaceBook friendship.  Until the other day.

I've put up hundreds, even thousands, of silly and serious FaceBook posts.  I don't care that people respond or don't respond.  This is just a fun outlet that is semi rewarding.  Well, I play DragonVille.  I enjoy it.  And whenever I play, I send out requests for gold and food, etc.  It sends out a blanket request to all my friends on FaceBook.  This is annoying and I know that people who don't play games HATE these kinds of things but really... what is the big deal?  Just block the game!  Or ignore the request.  It's not that hard.  But I digress.  Recently a friend from college posted a comment on my wall, politely asking if there was any way he could stop getting DragonVille requests.  I told him that he could block the game and that I have blocked many games myself.  This was all wonderful and civil.  And in an unprecedented show of attention, R. Cowden 'liked' his post.  His post on my wall; not my reply, nothing of mine.  This wouldn't bother me except that this is the one and only thing on my time line that he's ever 'liked' or made any notice of in all my time on FaceBook.  He 'likes' a status where someone is complaining about my behavior.  Nice.  Glad he pays attention.

Some Sound Advice!

This is a link that was posted recently on the Creative Writing MFA Blog, which is a fairly informative writing hub concerning that ever pressing topic: the MFA and the various programs through which to obtain one.  Several of the blog posts speak of first hand experience in dealing with the Low Residency Program through Queens University of Charlotte and I found this to be particularly helpful in the decision making process.  However, enough promotion, and on with the good stuff:

How to Apply to an MFA Program is a blog post from by Seth Fried who writes for the TinHouse Blog.   It is a truly excellent piece that - had I known about it prior to having mailed out my first two applications to MFA programs - wouldn't have helped me in the least.  But perhaps it will soften the blow of any rejection letters that may be forthcoming.  Enjoy this small excerpt, but please, do yourself a favor and follow the link to read the entire 'how to' article.  It's very much worth it.

~*~

Much like the royal courts of the yestermillennium, MFA programs will not grant you an audience unless you approach them with proper letters of introduction. That is why it is of the utmost importance that you secure two to three letters in which your former teachers recommend you as a human.

When requesting these letters from your teachers, you must be sensitive to the fact that teaching is demanding work and leaves very little time for writing letters. A polite thing to do is to create a generic letter to which any teacher can simply sign his or her name. I have included an example below:

Dear College,

I am writing to recommend that you accept Seth Fried to your creative writing program.

Seth was a star pupil in my (please circle one) REMEDIAL MATH COURSE/ANGER MANAGEMENT CLASS/BASIC HYGIENE INTERVENTION. Based on his performance, I am able to say with a high degree of certainty that you would be a fool not to accept him.

I found his intelligence to be so intimidating that after grading his work I was often unable to perform sexually. Frankly, I’m not even certain that he shouldn’t be writing a letter of recommendation for me.

He would truly be an asset to your program. Not only is he talented and focused, but he also does not do hard drugs and has never been convicted of a violent crime.

Sincerely,

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(sign above)